Sand on the roof.....!

Well it's six weeks to Christmas and it's going to be a lean one! I haven't felt too inspired to write in the last few weeks mainly because I didn't feel I had much to report. Martyn is enjoying his job and doing well. He still doesn't like Monday mornings though... No news on the job front for me which is of slight concern - it may well be that I am too old to work in a shop in this fair city - how rude! I heard a story this morning in the hairdressers about a girl who went for an interview for an inexpensive high street shop. It was not so much of an interview, more of an audition.... involving 'selling' yourself to the interviewers and dressing a mannequin as a particular pop star. Interviews are a terrifying prospect at the best of times, if I had to do that for a minimum wage job...... Job Centre here I come! Only kidding, it is crazy though that there is so much competition for jobs in retail down here. I may have to rethink my plans, yet again!

We had some 'interesting' weather last week I awoke to the sound of waves, not lapping on the shore but landing on the roof! I was instructed by my other half not to venture outside if at all possible as he had very nearly ended up going for a swim courtesy of the strong winds. When the bad weather closes in here it gets quite bleak. Our view is usually a pleasant one, hillsides and cattle to the right and white cliffs and expensive houses to the left. That particular day you couldn't see either. We had quite few days of similar weather and although it's not ideal sometimes you have get off the boat to get away from the noise. Ropes squeaking, fenders bashing, doors banging and the ever present sound of the wind howling through the masts. Imagine what it must have been like out at sea all those years ago. Months on end sat on a wooden sailing ship in bad weather - no wonder they often went mad. All in all though I still love it here. When the sun shines it really shines and you have to get outside and absorb some vitamin D. I hate it if I don't get to see the sea for a few days - it must be a therapeutic thing. There is something so absorbing about the sea, whether it's rough or calm it commands my attention. I can't walk along the sea front without stopping from time to time just to look - even if there's nothing out there. So it's worth it - the noise, the rust and the sand on the roof, just to be by the sea!

We had The Veteran Car Rally here the weekend before last. I wasn't really all that interested if I'm honest. I love the cars of the fifties and sixties, maybe even as far back as the twenties on occasion but old cronks from the turn of the century are not usually my thing. It is our intention to try and make the most of our time in Brighton so if there is something on, especially on Madeira Drive, and it's free, we'll be there!! We arrived around lunchtime and grumbled that all the cars were behind fences so full of people you couldn't see anything. We were almost at the Pier before we actually got to see a car arriving! When we did we had to smile! These people had driven these old vehicles all the way from London and you could just tell how happy they were to have made it to Brighton. The sun was shining, the crowd was huge and everyone waved and clapped and cheered as the cars arrived one by one. It was a great atmosphere! The sense of achievement for the people who had driven their vehicles from London to Brighton must have been great. I'm sure they all had lots of stories to tell about their journey.

An event that I didn't think I would really be interested in turned out to be great and gave me pause for thought. Life is about having adventures and pushing a few boundaries, taking journeys in vehicles not always suitable for the distance and having a tale to tell at the end of it. I felt a great deal of admiration for these people, many of them past retirement age and was glad to have been a part of their day, cheering them on at the end of their journey.

My thoughts are returning to scooters and the possible adventures we could have next year. There are so many different options down here for travel, even without venturing abroad, it would be a shame not to explore the lovely southern coast a little more. I suppose this is what will drive me back to work of any sort in the end. As always money makes the world go round and if I want to see more of it I need cash to finance it! Failing that - "Another lucky dip for me please......!"

Time for change.

It's strange waving Martyn off to work looking all clean and smart - strange in a nice way though. For those of you who don't already know Martyn got a job! A very nice job too I might add and one that he said he would have moved here for anyway. The job is with a company that he used to deal with when we lived in Goole. They supply marine parts, engines, gearboxes etc. The coincidences just keep on coming on this adventure don't they?! He didn't even know they were based in Brighton when we first arrived and it never occured to him initially to take his C.V. in to them. We had set off on one of our 'exploration Brighton' missions armed with C.V.'s. The place took a little bit of finding as we left the map and couldn't remember the road name.... yes..... nothing much changes! I sat in the Herald as Martyn went in C.V. in hand. He was gone a good few minutes before returning with a strange look on his face. "They're looking for someone" he said. "oops!" I thought - this is the one! Later that day he had a call from the Director who he had spoken to asking for references.....! We could hardly contain ourselves, yet tried to! Then all went quiet. We heard nothing for two days then Martyn got a call saying the references were good but he would have to wait until the boss was back.... in two and a half weeks! We could do nothing but wait and try not to think about it too much. The crazy thing is he didn't even really know what the job was, he just wanted it and I so much wanted him to get it.

When we finally decided to lift that anchor and set sail for pastures new it was in the hope of finding a new path for our lives to follow. It was time to wake up and shake off the past and open our eyes to other possibilities. After seeing some of the places Martyn has applied for jobs I am very glad he didn't get them. Two and a half weeks later following a five hour 'interview' with the boss Martyn was asked to join the company. He answers the phones, takes orders and provides technical assistance amongst other things. He goes to work clean and comes home clean. The hours are long but he tells me the people are lovely. Today is Friday and is the last day of his first week and as I waved him off (in the dark!) I felt very proud of him. It's a brave thing to change your career in such a dramatic fashion. He was nervous of going into quite an alien environment but I think he's adjusted really well. He's swapped welders and grinders for phones and computers He still gets to indulge himself in the world of all things mechanical without getting burnt or cut to bits.

Proud as I am I miss him through the day. Since the day we left our jobs we have been together almost 24/7 and I for one have thoroughly enjoyed it! So reality bites and I am left still wondering what I'll end up doing. My idea for a shop is still top on the list but I need to build up some capital to take to the bank before I ask them for more. This is all work in progress..... The main thing now is that we have at least one source of income. I have applied for a few Christmas jobs in shops but as yet haven't heard anything. The one thing I won't do is apply for something that will make me unhappy - I didn't sail half way round the country to slip back into my old ways. This week I have cooked (usually Martyns job he he!), cleaned, shopped for groceries and made sure everything is done by the time Martyn returns home. I have even cleaned and organised the cupboard under the sink, a job I intended to do before we left Hull! I may be overcompensating on the house wife duties but it has given me a focus for this week and stopped me dwelling on the fact that the honeymoon is over.....!

I have had some time to take some photographs though and intend to start doing some writing next week. Who knows maybe I can sell a few pictures and a story or two whilst waiting for that call about the J.O.B.???

Brightona!

Good things come to those who wait, so we continue to wait! The news on the j.o.b. front is positive for Martyn but we have to wait until next week for the final decision. It's hard to plan ahead when you are waiting for the answer that decides the next direction life will take you. If everything works out the way we hope, it will be a great opportunity for Martyn and one he justly deserves. So, we wait!

In the meantime we have been out and about still looking at alternative opportunities and trying to discover as much of Brighton as possible. We had a treat on Sunday. There was a bike rally on Madeira Drive ' Brightona'. It was an event we had looked forward to for a while and we weren't disappointed. The sun had been shining for a couple of days before hand and made a much appreciated appearance on Sunday. It could have been August it was so warm. Madeira Drive literally runs from the marina to the pier and is a pleasant walk at the best of times, even more so when there are thousands of motorbikes and classic British and American cars to look at. I can honestly say I have never seen as many Harley Davidson motorbikes in my life. I didn't know there were so many different styles. Some of them had been customised with artwork etc. Others had been made into trikes and all manner of creations. I imagine that possibly up to 50% of the bikes there were Harleys - quite incredible really. There were lots of scooters there too, disappointingly mainly standard bikes, lots of lights and mirrors and only a couple of cutdowns. Maybe next year we'll be there on our scooters to even up the balance with something a little more interesting! There was the wall of death, which I chickened out of going to see. I could see the bike going round the rickety wooden creation from the outside, it sent a chill down my spine from there, never mind going up to the top of it and looking down! There were bands playing, stalls selling everything from cowboy boots to helmets as well as lots of companies promoting their bikes. The atmosphere was great, no hassle, nobody getting stressed even though it was absolutely packed. The bikes were parked from one end of the drive to the other. It took us over two hours to walk it, taking photos as we went. We finished with a drink in the town and a lovely meal. We walked back via Madeira drive as everything was being packed away, the odd motorbike parked up here and there as if abandoned after the chaos. There was a lovely sunset which seemed to mark a prefect end of a perfectly lovely day.

Even though we are not working Monday morning is still Monday morning. I didn't notice it so much when we were travelling but I do now. I guess it's because we allow ourselves the weekend off thinking about jobs and money so reality strikes again Monday morning. It's something I want to get away from if I can. I don't want that Monday feeling anymore, I want to be able to get up and feel happy that I am spending my days doing something I enjoy. I know we all do but I feel that I am in a very privileged position at the moment and have an opportunity to make what I want a reality. Martyn has taken on the responsibility of becoming the main breadwinner to allow me this luxury. He prefers the idea of at least one of us having a stable job with regular money. I just hope for him that he gets the job he wants and it makes him happy. So all in all I am a very lucky person - if a poor one!

Is it back to the mud......?

My enthusiasm for a market stall was still running high on Monday morning as we set off in the Herald to check it out. By 2pm in the afternoon following a disastrous first attempt, a disappointing visit to a possible supplier and another unsuccessful drive around Brighton we parked the car and started walking. Brighton is possibly one of the most confusing places to drive around. It's a bit like a rabbit warren and the lack of road names on actual roads coupled with the requirement to drive at 100mph everywhere means lots of beeping of horns and stress! As I have said before, Brighton is not a place to drive around - the best option is always by foot. So we parked and walked, in the wrong direction. I used to be so good at map reading and always considered myself to have a good sense of direction. Clearly, this is no longer the case - I had been taking us in all the wrong directions all day. Martyn took over the map reading and eventually we found it - closed of course - and run down to say the least. There is talk of a new one being built, hopefully somewhere people can find it! All in all a disappointing day. My hopes of becoming a market trader may not come to fruition, if I can't source locally and collect I'm stuffed! I can't really expect the office at the marina to take deliveries for me and most suppliers are online only. When did the world beyond online ordering cease to exist? I had a vision of getting up early hitting the wholesalers then off to the market to trade my wares, if I can find it......! My other concern is that if we couldn't find the market how do people new to the area even know it's there? The truth is, they don't. There isn't even a sign anywhere for it. I think the reality is that in order for me to be able to get my idea up and running I need a shop. The smallest one I can find. This is my new mission!

Tuesday was Martyns day for a mission. With nothing new on the job front and no calls from the advert he placed he decided to amend his C.V. slightly and get out there again. We made the changes, in hindsight much needed changes and took a drive down to Hove and Shoreham. Having left the amended C.V.s at the chosen establishments we decided to have a drive into Shoreham. We had been told about the houseboats in Shoreham on a few occasions and now seemed as good a time as any to take a sneaky peek. The town itself is quite pretty but the sight of the houseboats is something else! They seem to go on for miles. The tide was out when we visited so they were all sat in the (rather pongy) mud. I knew there were quite a few Military Torpedo Boats there but didn't realise just how many. They line the banks of the river one after another and accommodate some very interesting 'wheelhouses'! The superstructures that sit upon these amazing hulls are wacky, artistic and creative to say the least. I have to say though without wanting to be disrespectful to the owners / creators of these dwellings, it's not my thing. I would much rather see them with a wheelhouse in keeping with the boat and in a usable condition. I guess the answer to that from some would be that at least they are still being used. The jury is out....!
We had a walk into the town, it's quite a lovely little place with every shop you would need including gift shops and the like. It's probably not a bad place to live. Martyn has told me to get used to it because at the rate we're going we'll have to just sneak up on the mud and hope to stay there next year!! Harrumph..... not sure I like it that much....!
So today, well, there may be news on the job front for Martyn and he had two calls in the space of five minutes from people requiring his welding services - bit like buses! That's where he is right now, not on a bus but in Hove welding. Let's hope this is the start of things turning around for us. I really hope I haven't just jinxed it!

Water over the wall....

It's October already and still no sign of work. We placed an ad in the local free ad paper on Friday advertising Martyns' engineering skills. Fingers crossed, something will come through for him next week. I have given up on the job websites. It's very clear to me that I can't go back into an office environment, unless that office is my own! I have decided to go self employed and have begun to research the possibility of a market stall. I have an idea that I think will work, especially in the run up to Christmas. It will mean working long hours, being frozen cold, getting soaking wet but at least I won't be in an office being told how to think.

We haven't yet worked out why neither of us have been able to get work, it's always been quite easy in the past. It's easy to feel negative and wonder if there is something wrong with you but there are a lot of people out there looking for work and I have to say I really can't bear the thought of working for £5 an hour. If I have to I will, of course, but there are other options too explore first. Maybe it's because we don't really want to work for other people again, maybe we're just not trying hard enough because deep down it's not what we want. Either way it's making us think 'outside the box'(hate that phrase!). I have always believed that Martyn should work for himself, he's much more talented than he gives himself credit for. Hopefully this will give him the push to realise his potential and enjoy working again. Personally, I have always wanted to work for myself but until now didn't really have an idea of what I should do. We will give both ago and see what happens. There's no point in sitting around waiting for the next job, it's time to go out and make some money! Tomorrow we are going to have a look at the market (the worrying thing is that we haven't come across it before!) and then visit a possible supplier. There's every chance I could be up and running within a week or so - exciting times!

We have had our first real taste of what might be to come over the winter months. On Friday, following a glorious day on Thursday, a huge front came in. We had serious water over the sea wall and right over the boat! It was hard at times to move around the boat without hitting the sides. By Saturday morning however all was calm, dead calm. Boat owners around the marina were out in the Autumn sunshine washing the salt off their boats and discussing the weather, how well we do that in England. Whatever the reason, anything that gets people out of their boats and talking to each other must be a good thing. It makes you smile and you feel part of something because you have something in common and something to talk about. We discovered that one of our very close neighbours originates from Hull. If Martyn hadn't been out washing the boat they might not have got talking. He seems like a really nice chap and a good character. Hopefully we might get the chance to have a beer with him and learn a little more about how things work around here.

So far there hasn't been much to report. I really hope that changes for the better this week. I'm excited about the future and hope that at least one of us will be able to make a success of working for ourselves. It feels a bit like we have been given a second chance to make work an enjoyable part of our life. They say you either work to live or live to work. I just want to earn enough money to live and have some fun. I want to wake up in the morning and not feel sick at the prospect of going to work. At the end of the day there's only me that can make these things happen. If we can't make it happen in Brighton where can we?

Going stir crazy.

Good news at last, the Herald passed it's MOT! It's one less thing to worry about. The guys were great when Martyn went back up - no problem.

We tried to have a standard kind of weekend. We spend most of our days on the laptop searching for jobs or waiting for a reply so we thought it a good idea to put the computer away and try and enjoy some of Brighton. I was excited on Saturday as a new shop was opening in Brighton 'Dolly Dagger'. They sell 'Vintage' clothes - lovely 50's and 60's styled dresses, cute hats and fabulous shoes. It seemed like a good enough excuse to step out for the day. It's a good 40 minute walk into Brighton but on a sunny day it doesn't feel like far. We hit 'Dolly Dagger' first, it's a very small shop but full of lovely styled dresses. It may be some time before any of my cash passes over the counter though! We then hit 'The Lanes' a famous area of Brighton and the place that most reminds me of Hebden Bridge. This is where all the quirky, independent shops are. You can buy clothes from any era here amongst the second hand and vintage stores. You can buy vinyl records, old postcards, new postcards, ethically sourced goods of all manner and description. You can eat Vegan, Tapas, Chinese and catch a comedy show or just chill out at a cafe bar or pub. If you can't find something to please you here you won't find it anywhere. You can even get away with just mooching round soaking up the atmosphere and 'window shopping'. They have one of the oldest street markets here on a Saturday. One street is taken over by stalls selling all manner of goods from second hand books to silver jewelry and plants in old tins. It's a crazy old place and buzzes with people of all age routing through looking for bargains. It seems that more than ever everyone wants something old these days. If it's not old fashioned it's just not cool enough...... We went to one of Brightons most popular shops, a 'vintage' warehouse. To many of the residents and cool, hip visitors of Brighton this is 'the' place to shop for a new outfit, to me, it reminded me of jumble sales at Midgley Methodist Church in my home village. Nothing wrong with either but the smell of dust and mothballs didn't really do it for me. Maybe it's just me (well obviously!!) but old bobbled jumpers and second hand shoes selling for £15-£20 a time.....? The thing is the high street shops are selling new clothes in the same style for a similar price. Oh dear, time to stop the rant - second hand clothes, shoes etc. just aren't for me.

We wandered back through Kemp Town, one of our favourite places in Brighton. It's a street that runs above, but almost parallel to, the sea front and takes us in the right direction home. Kemp Town is one of the most chilled out areas of Brighton and we enjoyed a couple of drinks in two of it's pub as we made our way back. Brighton city centre is great but it is one hundred mile an hour all the time, in Kemp Town you can take a breath. We headed home as the sun set behind the pier, another missed photo opportunity. As we made our descent to the marina we spotted a motorbike just outside Black Rock train station. It must have been some kind of stunt artist, we watched as he/she pulled wheelies and stoppies and things I have no names for. It was clearly somebody practising for some kind of act. It felt a bit like we were spying, just us watching this person on their own, in their own world. Set against the setting sun it made for quite an amazing spectacle. Sometimes you are just in the right place at the right time.

Sunday followed, we had a walk, watched a disappointing Grand Prix and ate Sunday lunch. All very normal. The idea was to get a nice early(ish) night and get up ready to get the old job search going again bright and breezy. I won't tell you what time we actually woke up and got up it's quite shameful, but we awoke to quite a calm day and thought we might take the boat for a run..... We checked the weather - wind speed N/A, force 1 - 2 visibility good. It sounded perfect - it was rubbish! It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't fun. As a precaution I had moved everything that normally went flying and good job too. We got further than we had last time we went out and could have gone further but decided to head back in. It's no wonder that people come here and never move again! I thought that moving here would mean we could get out more often, I never once imagined that those days would be so few and far between.

Today was calm but foggy, we arose at a decent hour and hit the job centre - that's an experience I can tell you! We have decided to look into getting Martyn set up as self employed, there seems to be a lack of people doing engineering work around here so it seems like a good option. He might stand a better chance doing contract work rather than going 'on the books' in one place. We thought we should try at the job centre first to see if they had some sort of advice / support section. I had already been on the Business link website and registered. The advise we were given was, "try Business link"...... I guess if you want to do something in this country you've got to do the walking yourself. I for one spent the afternoon walking around the town C.V. in hand looking for shop jobs, I found two but something tells me I may be too old....!

We'll keep going, we have to the money won't last too much longer and we both need something more to think about on a day to day basis. Maybe tomorrow we'll get that e-mail or phone call................

Rocky times ahead....?

The local paper yesterday officially announced the end of summer....! Following four lovely sunny warm days we are back to rain and low temperatures. The perfect time then for both of us to get our hair cut really short! We don't like to follow convention and a new haircut seems the order of the day when embarking on a new adventure. So this is it, Elephant Daze and crew all ship shape and ready for whatever lies ahead! Only thing is we still don't have jobs. Maybe we are unemployable?! What if no-one want us?! We have only been seriously looking for work and applied for less than half a dozen each in the last week - yes we are already getting panicky! It's not that we miss working - we just want to have some money so we can get out and about and see all that Brighton has to offer. We do a lot of walking and a lot of window shopping. Every day we find something that we will buy 'When we've got a job!'. At the rate we're going these jobs are going to have to pay well! I guess we need to be more patient and maybe just try that little bit harder instead of squandering what cash we have left on the lottery...it's a lovely dream though!

Yesterday Martyns Triumph Herald went for it's MOT - always a worry trying to get it MOT'd in a new town. We have been trying to spot some of the less salubrious garages for a couple of weeks now. With todays rules and regulations it's not easy to get a pass on an old cronk, especially one that's slightly modified. Unfortunately the garage we chose took it upon themselves to fail it on something that was working perfectly well when we left it there. Hey hum, I guess they're just testing us - fingers crossed it will pass today. I think the garage owner was surprised to find that Martyn had owned the car for nearly twenty years and done all the work himself on it. Sometimes it doesn't pay to age so well when people treat you like you're young and naive!

It's been fun being out and about in the Herald recently. It makes people stop and look when you're driving down the street. It makes people want to talk to you, it just makes me smile! It's fun and that's what life should be about! When I used to drive up and down the motorway the business people in their prestige cars would pass me in my Citroen Saxo. I often thought how it would be to be the person driving such cars. These are people that probably spend 80% of their working day in that car, on the motorway, on their phones. They probably have high pressured jobs, high salaries and high blood pressure to boot. It's not for me. You don't see a lot of that in Brighton funnily enough. There are more bashed up bangers and rusty push bikes around than I've ever seen in one place. The roads are mad - it's like the wacky races - it's not the place for prestige cars and I for one like it that way! In fact if I get my way I won't be driving a car at all, it's so easy to walk about or catch the bus, 'normal' cars are not essential. I may have to invest in another scooter though if at all possible. There are loads of them around. Back home if someone rides a scooter there's every chance they are part of a club or do scooter rallies, here, it's just another form of transport and another way to look cool of course!

We have been told by our next door neighbour, who has just returned from a trip to the Scilly Isles on his boat, that it's not just water that comes over the sea wall. Sand and shale and pebbles have regularly been found on the decks of his boat! As I type the masts are clattering around us (they don't clink clink gently here!) and we are rocking from side to side. This, apparently, is quite calm. Our sea legs will well and truly be tested this year and we will find out if Brighton truly is the vibrant, quirky, fun place we want it to be - here's hoping!